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Laugh Out Loud

Many expats living in Asian cities will be all too familiar with the weekend routine of drinking and eating, followed by a little more eating and another spot of drinking... but there’s often a distinct lack of other expat-friendly evening pastimes, and understandably so in a city where English is not the first language. With this in mind, the enterprising Brit John Moorhead came up with the concept of Punchline Comedy in 1994, regularly flying over English-speaking comedians to the laugh-hungry crowds of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok, to name a few.

A sure sign that the group is going from strength to strength in Beijing, the regular shows have recently moved to fancier, larger digs, courtesy of Sanlitun’s new branch of trendy bar and diner Home Plate BBQ. Meanwhile, the line-ups are getting progressively more high-profile, from Irish stars like Joe Rooney (Father Ted) and Brendan Dempsey from hit movie Waking Ned, to American stand-ups who have featured on Letterman and MTV’s Half Hour Comedy Hour, to British TV pundits like Marcus Brigstocke and Gina Yashere. But don’t be afraid if the names don’t ring any bells: the comedians are always professionals, so you need not expect the kind of excruciating open mic night you might find down your local dive pub!